Machine for producing moulds consisting of identical mould parts that are lined up against each other

ABSTRACT

In a mould part producing machine the moulds are successively pressed between an upper and a lower pattern board in a vertical chamber. By a downward movement the mould part is displaced out of the chamber and, while supported by the lower pattern board and a lateral support member, is tilted into a position from which it can be pushed onto a guideway on which the mould is successively assembled and is intermittently advanced.

United States Patent 1 Gunnergaard MACHINE FOR PRODUCING MOULDSCONSISTING OF IDENTICAL MOULD PARTS THAT ARE LINED UP AGAINST EACH OTHERInventor: Marius Gunnergaard, Lyngby,

Denmark Assignee: Dansk Industn' Syndikat A/S, Herlev, Denmark Filed:Feb. 25, 1972 Appl. No.: 229,426

Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 4, 1971 Denmark 1015/71 US. Cl164/183, 164/187, 164/207 Int. Cl. B22C 15/02, B226 17/08 Field ofSearch ..-l64/183, 187, 207,

[451 July 10, 1973 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,556,1961/1971 Buhler l 164/187 X 3,628,592 12/1971 Taccone 164/183 PrimaryExaminer-Robert D. Baldwin Attorney-Dwight Hunter Smiley et a1.

[5 7 ABSTRACT 2 Claims,5 Drawing Figures MACHINE FOR PRODUCING MOULDSCONSISTING OF IDENTICAL MOULD PARTS THAT ARE LINED UP AGAINST EACH OTHERWhen manufacturing moulds of the type which consist of identical mouldparts that are closely lined up against each other, the mould partproduction proper normally takes place by the sand material beingcompressed between a pair of pattern boards which form end walls in achamber, the axis of which is horizontal and whose bottom is situated inalignment with a conveyor or guideway, on which the mould parts arelined up against each other and advanced step by step concurrently withthe mould part manufacturing process. After one mould part has beencompressed, the pattern board, or the so-called counter-pressure plate,facing the guideway is removed, whereupon the otherpattem board, or thepressure plate, is utilized to push the mould part out onto the guidewayin order to be lined up against the row of mould parts formedpreviously.

In the course of the compressing operation and particularly during thedisplacement of the mould part from the chamber to the guideway,substantial wear and tear takes place on the bottom plate of the chamberand the underside of the pattern board serving as pressure plate. Fromthe published specification of German Pat. application No. 1,962,549, amachine of the type outlined in the foregoing is known, in which,however, the compressing operation takes place in the verticaldirection, subsequent to which thecompressing chamber, in conjunctionwith the pressure plate and the mouldpart formed, is tilted by anangleof 90 into a position where the mould part, by means of the pressureplate, can be pushed out onto the guideway as explained above. In thiscase, the wear and tear on the chamber wall that occurs during thecompressing operation will be distributed fairly uniformly over itsentire circumference, but the greatest part of the total wear and tear,that is to say the part which is due-to the friction between the chamberand the mould part in the course of its expulsion movement, isconcentrated on the side of the chamber wall that faces downwardlysubsequent to the chamber having been tilted by 90. When a high degreeof accuracy is required of the mould parts that are produced, this wearand tear will have to be compensated for from time to time, which,however, is difficult to efi'ect in practice.

Another disadvantage connected with the prior art machine operating withvertical compression of the mould parts is the circumstance that theirdensity and hardness will diminish from one terminal surface to theother. This is due to the fact that the compressing action is effectedby an upward movement of the lower pattern board in the directiontowards the upper, stationary pattern board. Before the start of thecompressing operation proper, the sand material with which the chamberis filled, will, due to the gravitational effect, have a greater densitynear the lower pattern board or the pressure plate than near the upperpattern board or counter-pressure plate and, in the course of thecompressing operation, this difference in the density will be retainedor increased on account of the internal friction in the sand material aswell as the friction against the side wall of the chamber.

By means of the present invention it is endeavoured to provide a machineby which the disadvantages pointed out in the foregoing are eliminatedand other advantages are obtained. I

Thus, the invention relates to a machine serving to produce mouldsconsisting of identical mould parts that are lined up against eachother, which machine, in a manner known per se, comprises a chamber inwhich a measured quantity of mould sand is compressed vertically betweenopposite upper and lower pattern boards and a mechanism for tilting themould part formed in the compressing chamber together with the lowerpattern board until the axial direction of the mould part becomeshorizontal, and a horizontal guideway on which the mould parts aresuccessively lined up against each other in that the mould part that isproduced last, by means of pressure exerted via said lower patternboard, is moved onto the guideway so as to abut against the precedingmould part. According to the invention, such a machine is characteristicin that the compressing chamber is stationary, and the two patternboards, subsequent to the compression of the mould part, are jointlydisplaceable in a downward direction so as to expel the mould part fromthe chamber, and in that the tilting mechanism is provided with alateral mould part supporting member which, during; the expulsionmovement, is aligned with part of the inside of the compressing chamberand which, subsequent to the tilting operation, is flush with theguideway.

In this case, the compressing of the sand to form a mould part can beperformed by a downward movement of the upper pattern board, that is tosay in the direction of the gravitational force, which renders possiblethe production of mould parts whose density or hardness, in a matter ofspeaking, does not vary between the terminal surfaces. The use .of astationary compressing chamber results in the additional advantage thatthe total amount of wear and tear will be distributed uniformly over theentire circumference as not only the compressing operation, but also theexpulsion of the mould parts from the chamber, takes place in thevertical direction. The horizontal displacement of the mould part takesplace on said lateral mould part supporting member after the tenninationof the tilting movement, and any wear on this lateral supporting membermay be compensated in a simple manner.

Additional advantages presented by the machine according to theinvention are that due to thestationary compressing chamber the designbecomes relatively uncomplicated, and that it will be possible to reducethe total weight of the tiltable component parts down to a minimum.

According to the invention it is preferred that the tilting axis of thetilting mechanism intersects the plane, determined by the axes of thecompressing chamber and of the mould parts disposed on the guideway, ator near the point of intersection of these axes. It is possible toensure hereby that the mould part, in the course of the tiltingmovement, will only be subjected to minimal effects from the centrifugalforce.

The invention will now be more fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings which illustrate the essential parts of themachine in five different positions during its operating cycle.

The machine comprises a frame 1 (not shown in greater detail) with astationary, vertical compressing chamber 2 carrying a pressure cylinder3 at its top. Compressing chamber 2 contains an upper pattern board 4,hereinafter referred to as pressure plate,

which is carried by the lower end of a piston 5 operating in cylinder 3.Ordinary elements (not shown in the drawings) may be employed to controlthe supply and the discharge of the pressure fluid to and from cylinder3.

In the position in FIG. 1, compressing chamber 2 is shown closed at thebottom by a lower pattern board 6, hereinafter referred to as thecounter-pressure plate, that is carried by the upper end of a piston 7operating in a pressure cylinder 8 which likewise is equipped withnecessary means for controlling the supply and discharge of pressurefluid. Cylinder 8 is, in a manner not shown in greater detail, pivotablysupported in a bearing 9 in frame 1. This bearing, in the embodimentillustrated, is so located that its axis intersects the vertical axis ofcompressing chamber 2.

In addition, a table or guideway 10 forms part of the machine, on whichthe mould 11 is successively constructed and advanced as a string ofmould parts.

In FIG. 1, the space between the pressure plate 4 and counterpressureplate 6 is filled with a measured quantity of moulding sand which, withthe aid of compressed air, can be injected into the chamber through oneor several suitable apertures, for example, gaps (not shown) in thechamber wall. When the sand is injected through the vertical wall of thecompressing chamber,

a considerable degree of latitude is present with respect to the designand location of the injection apertures so that it is possible to ensurethe most expedient distribution of sand relative to the shape and sizeof the patterns inside the chamber. In the case of existing machinesthat operate with vertical injection of the sand, the gravitationaleffect imposes rather narrow limits as to the size of the injectionaperture.

After the compressing chamber has been filled and while counter-pressureplate 6 is held in the position shown, a downward movement is impartedto pressure plate 4 whereby the mould sand is compressed so as to form amould part 12. When the compression operation proper is concluded, thedownwardly directed movement of pressure plate 4 is continued to theposition shown in FIG. 2 and, concurrently herewith, counter-pressureplate 6 is likewise moved downwards so that mould part 12 is moved fromchamber 2 while being securely held between the two plates 4 and 6.

From the position shown in FIG. 2, counter-pressure plate 6 continuesits downward movement to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 wherebymould part 12 gets clear of pressure plate 4 which remains in the lowerend of compressing chamber 2. Mould part 12 will subsequently rest oncounter-pressure plate 6, but it will, at the same time, be in lateralabutment against a lateral supporting member 13 which is aligned withthe lefthand side of compressing chamber 2 and is rigidly connected tocylinder 8.

From the position shown in FIG. 3, cylinder 8, in conjunction withcounter-pressure plate 6, lateral supporting member 13 and mould part12, is tilted into the position shown in FIG. 4 where lateral supportingmember 13 is flush with guideway 10.

Following this, counter-pressure plate 6 is imparted a left-directedmovement whereby mould part 12 is pushed out onto guideway 10 and joinsthe previously produced mould 11, FIG. 5.

Subsequently a new operating cycle can be initiated after the componentshave been returned to the position shown in FIG. 1.

I claim:

1. A machine for producing foundry moulds consisting of identical mouldparts that are lined up against each other to form at least one castingcavity bounded by each pair of successive mould parts, comprising astationary mould part pressing chamber with a vertical axis and withupper and lower vertically movable pattem boards to compress and modelmould material fed into said chamber, means to displace said patternboards with mould part therebetween downwardly until said mould part isexpelled from said chamber and then to further displace said lowerpattern board with said mould part relative to said upper pattern board,a horizontal guideway to successively receive the mould parts producedand to support the mould in such a way that it may be intermittentlyadvanced thereon, a mechanism for tilting said lower pattern board withsaid mould part from its expelled position to a position in which itsaxis is horizontal, and a lateral mould part supporting member whichduring the displacement of the pattern boards with the mould parttherebetween is aligned with part of the wall of said chamber and bysaid tilting becomes flush with said guideway.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tilting axis of saidlower pattern board intersects the plane, defined by the axes of saidchamber and of the mould parts standing on said guideway, in the regionof the point of intersection of said plane defining axes.

1. A machine for producing foundry moulds consisting of identical mouldparts that are lined up against each other to form at least one castingcavity bounded by each pair of successive mould parts, comprising astationary mould part pressing chamber with a vertical axis and withupper and lower vertically movable pattern boards to compress and modelmould material fed into said chamber, means to displace said patternboards with mould part therebetween downwardly until said mould part isexpelled from said chamber and then to further displace said lowerpattern board with said mould part relative to said upper pattern board,a horizontal guideway to successively receive the mould parts producedand to support the mould in such a way that it may be intermittentlyadvanced thereon, a mechanism for tilting said lower pattern board Withsaid mould part from its expelled position to a position in which itsaxis is horizontal, and a lateral mould part supporting member whichduring the displacement of the pattern boards with the mould parttherebetween is aligned with part of the wall of said chamber and bysaid tilting becomes flush with said guideway.
 2. A machine as claimedin claim 1, wherein the tilting axis of said lower pattern boardintersects the plane, defined by the axes of said chamber and of themould parts standing on said guideway, in the region of the point ofintersection of said plane defining axes.